Yogyakarta, June 10th 2021━Fisipol Crisis Center (FCC) held a Webinar Series #2 titled as ‘Alerta OBGV: Smart Ways to Maintain Privacy in the Digital Space’ on Thursday (10/6). The speakers in this event were Sri Handayani Nasution (Project Officer of CfDS UGM) and Ellen Kusuma (Digital At-Risks of SAFEnet). This event was held on Zoom from 01.00 p.m. to 03.00 p.m.
Online Gender Based Violence (OGBV) is violence that occurs on the basis of gender power relations between victims and perpetrators in the online spaces or using digital technology as a medium, not limited to those transmitted via the internet. OGBV is an extension of gender-based violence in physical spaces and often the two violences occur simultaneously.
During the pandemic, where people moved to the internet, the cases of OGBV have increased. According to Komnas Perempuan’s 2020 annual records, OGBV increased from 126 cases in 2019 to 510 cases in 2020. The forms of violence that dominate the OGBV are psychological violence 49% (491 cases), sexual violence 48% (479 cases), and economic violence 2% (22 cases).
Sri Handayani Nasution or familiarly called Bolbi, mentioned the characteristics of OGBV, including: being facilitated by digital technology as a medium; expression of unequal power relations; influence each other with offline gender-based violence; gender discrimination; and various forms of violence with various perpetrators.
Meanwhile, the OGBV case occurs because of an oppressive patriarchal system and culture that is often used as a tool to threaten women, a tool to regulate, judge, control women’s bodies, and minds. In addition, there is also an expression of toxic masculinity, namely a sense of ownership over women.
“People feel that there is a sense of ownership over a woman’s body, men feel they have the right to regulate how women dress and know where their girlfriend or wife goes, it’s an expression of toxic masculinity based on a sense of belonging to women,” said Bolbi.
We all may be affected by OGBV, but there are some people who are vulnerable to this violence, they are people who have intimate relationships, professionals, and people who are survivors of past gender-based violence. The OGBV case has an impact on the physical, psychological, and socio-political economy.
Ellen Kusuma believes that we need to maintain digital security to minimize the possibility of OGBV by understanding privacy, concerns, digital ecosystems, and the characteristics of the digital world.
“Don’t think that we are nothing, therefore we are safe. With “data is the new oil” nothing is safe!” she concluded.